There are many great neighborhoods in and around Boston. Streets close to the Charles River can be quite beautiful. Cambridge, home to MIT and Harvard University, has some wonderful areas. Beacon Hill is one of the most posh neighborhoods in America. A walk through it and the nearby Boston Common, the oldest park in America, will explain why. But there are other choices such as the historic North End that are convenient to town. The city is so big that if you are thinking of retiring here you need to spend some time to understand all of the many neighborhoods you could live in. As some experts have said, Boston has examples of every kind of American architecture. While expensive, there are many places to live here, including its many suburbs.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median sale price of a home in the Boston metro area was $378,500 in the first quarter of 2016. Zillow reports it to be much higher at $508,875. Obviously, there is great variation depending on neighborhood. | 
